The present invention relates to spoked wheels, to nipples used to secure spokes to wheel frames, and to wrenches useful to tighten spokes to the wheel frames. More particularly, the invention relates to such nipples and wrenches which are structured and adapted to provide benefits in tightening or securing the spokes to wheel frames and/or in using the spoked wheels including the nipples.
Nipples are widely used today to tighten spokes to a wheel frame, for example, a bicycle wheel frame. In essence, a nipple is used by passing it through a hole in the wheel rim and then joining the spoke to the depending portion of the nipple. The nipple is rotated to tighten the spoke to the wheel rim to the desired extent. Such nipples are commonly made of relatively heavy metal, such as brass, to provide durability and strength. Lighter metals, such as aluminum, and relatively light polymeric materials would be advantageous, because of their light weight, provided that nipples made from such materials can be made to overcome certain problems.
One of the biggest problems with such spoke nipples has heretofore been in tightening the spokes. For example, such spoke nipples are often constructed so as to have a four sided flat drive, such as a drive having a square cross section. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cdrivexe2x80x9d refers to that portion of the nipple which is grasped by a wrench or other tool in turning the nipple, for example, to tighten the spoke to the wheel frame. During the turning/tightening operation, the tool or wrench strips or otherwise wears or rounds the edges of the flats so that, over a relatively short period of time, it becomes much more difficult, and even impossible, to effectively turn the nipple. Ultimately, the nipple becomes unusable and must be replaced, which is a time consuming job. Also, the worn or rounded flats may result in the spokes not being effectively tightened. In this case, the spokes may become loose during use of the spoked wheel, which causes the wheel to buckle with disadvantageous consequences, for example, injuries to riders of bicycles including such spoked wheels.
It would be advantageous to provide spoke nipples and/or turning tools which can be effectively used with reduced risk of physical damage to the nipples and of failure during use of wheels including such nipples.
New spoke nipples, apparatus for turning such spoke nipples and wheels including such spoke nipples have been discovered. The present nipples are structured and adapted with a spline drive so as to be turned with a reduced risk of being physically damaged, for example, relative to a similar nipple having a four sided flat drive. The present nipples are relatively easy to effectively and securely tighten to the spokes so that a reduced risk of the spoke becoming loose during use exists, for example, relative to nipples having a conventional four sided flat drive. The structure of the present nipples allows the use of materials of construction which are light weight, for example, lighter or less dense than brass, without sacrificing effectiveness in tightening the spokes and in holding the spokes to the wheel frame.
The present nipple turning tools or wrenches are structured for use with the present nipples. Thus, the present tools or wrenches facilitate effectively and securely tightening the spokes to the nipples without damaging the nipples. In addition, the present wrenches are of sufficiently small size to be used between the spokes of a wheel. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the wrenches are structured to provide for additional turning leverage and/or for use in situations where it is difficult to turn the nipple, for example, when the spoke is located in close proximity to the air valve stem of the wheel tire.
The spoked wheels including the present nipples provide substantial advantages. For example, because the present nipples are resistent to physical damage, they can be used repeatedly, even after being placed on the wheel, to effectively xe2x80x9ctunexe2x80x9d the wheel to the desired degree of spoke tightness. In addition, such spoked wheels are more secure in use since the spokes are less likely to loosen from the nipples. Also, the present spoked wheels are preferably lighter in weight than the conventional spoked wheel, for example, because of the use of light weight materials to produce the spoke nipples.
In one broad aspect of the present invention, nipples, such as spoke nipples, are provided. The nipples comprise an enlarged head, for example, to be joined to the rim of a spoked wheel, an elongated shank which includes a spline drive and a passageway. The elongated shank is joined to and extends from the enlarged head, for example, extending toward the hub of the spoked wheel when in use, has an outer peripheral surface, and defines an inlet. The passageway includes the inlet and is at least partially defined by an interior surface of the elongated shank and a threaded surface. The outer peripheral surface includes one or more splines each of which extends generally longitudinally. It has been found that the use of a spline drive, that is at least one spline, preferably a plurality of spaced apart splines, on the outer peripheral surface of the elongated shank is effective in enhancing the ability to turn or rotate the nipples. For example, using such an outer peripheral surface including one or more splines, the nipple can be turned to securely, even more securely, tighten a spoke to the nipple and the wheel frame with a reduced risk of physically damaging the nipple, relative to a similarly sized and structured nipple which has a four sided flat drive.
Without wishing to limit the invention to any particular theory of operation, it is believed that the use of one or more splines reduces the concentration of stresses or forces at any one particular point on the outer peripheral surface of the nipple, thereby reducing the risk that any one particular point on this outer peripheral surface will give way, e.g., become worn or rounded, as a result of being turned.
The outer peripheral surface of the elongated shank more preferably includes about 3 to about 8 of the spaced apart splines, with excellent results being achieved with an outer peripheral surface including about 6 of the spaced apart splines.
The present nipples may be made of any suitable material or combination of materials. The nipples are preferably made of a material selected from the group consisting of metals, such as brass, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, titanium and the like, and polymeric materials. In a particularly useful embodiment, the nipple is made of a material, or combination of materials, having a density less than the density of brass. This feature allows the use of lightweight materials without reducing the effectiveness of the nipples in use. One particularly useful material of construction for the present nipples is aluminum, for example, 2024-T4 aluminum.
The spline or splines are preferably sized to facilitate rotating the nipple relative to the spoke of a wheel, the end of which spoke is passed through the inlet defined by the elongated shank, for example, and engages the threaded surface of the passageway. The spline or splines preferably have a width generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongated shank and has a depth or height generally transverse to this longitudinal axis. In one embodiment, the width of each spline is in the range of about 0.002 inch to about 0.03 inch, for example, about 0.01 inch; and the depth of each spline (measured from the outer peripheral surface of the elongated shank adjacent the spline) is in the range of about 0.001 inch to about 0.010 inch or about 0.015 inch. The width of the spline is preferably larger than the depth of the spline. Although the spline or splines can extend over the entire length of the outer peripheral surface of the elongated shank, in a preferred embodiment, the spline or splines extend over only a portion of the length of this outer peripheral surface. This feature allows the spline or splines to facilitate the turning of the nipples without causing any damage to the rim of the wheel. The portion or portions of the nipples adapted to be in contact with, or in close proximity to, the rim of the wheel are preferably substantially smooth to further reduce the risk of damaging such portion or portions of the nipples and the wheel frame, e.g., rim.
The enlarged head and elongated shank may have any suitable configurations provided that the nipple is capable of functioning as described herein. In one useful embodiment, the enlarged head has a generally circular cross-section (transverse to the longitudinal axis of the nipple) which varies in size along the length of the enlarged head. The maximum straight line dimension of the enlarged head transverse to the longitudinal axis of the nipple is preferably in the range of about 0.05 inch to about 0.5 inch, for example, about 0.25 inch. In one embodiment, each of the outer peripheral surface of the elongated shank and the passageway has a generally right circular cylindrical configuration. The maximum straight line dimension, e.g., diameter, of the elongated shank transverse to the longitudinal axis of the spoke nipple is preferably in the range of about 0.03 inch to about 0.4 inch, for example, about 0.15 inch. The length of the nipple is preferably in the range of about 0.15 inch to about 1 inch, for example, about 0.45 inch.
In another broad aspect of the present invention, apparatus for rotating a nipple, such as a nipple described herein, having an outer peripheral surface including at least one spline extending generally longitudinally are provided. Such apparatus comprise a base member and a split or slot. The base member includes a first side, a substantially opposing second side and a peripheral wall located between the first and second sides. The split or slot is located in the base member and passes through the first and second sides. This slot includes an inlet in the peripheral wall and an enlarged portion spaced apart from the inlet. The slot is preferably sufficiently large to allow a spoke to pass through, for example, from the inlet to the enlarged portion.
The enlarged portion is configured to engage a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the nipple including the at least one spline so that when the enlarged portion is so engaged the nipple rotates in response to the base member being rotated. In a preferred embodiment, the nipple includes a plurality of spaced apart splines each of which extends generally longitudinally, and the enlarged portion is configured to engage a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the nipple including more than one of the spaced apart splines. The enlarged portion may be said to include one or more indents shaped or configured as inverted or internal splines corresponding to the external spline or splines on the nipple so as to engage the spline or splines of the nipple when it is desired to turn or rotate the nipple.
The tool or wrench is preferably made from a hardened material, preferably selected from metals, that has an internal spline drive that matches the external spline drive on the nipples. The tool is preferably made as a unitary structure with no parts moving relative to each other.
In a particularly useful embodiment, the present rotating apparatus, e.g., tool or wrench, further comprises an additional split or slot spaced apart from the split or slot and structured similarly, though preferably not identically, to the split or slot. More preferably, the slot is longer than the additional slot. The additional slot is preferably situated in the base member so that it can be used more effectively (then the slot) to facilitate the rotation of nipples located in xe2x80x9chard-to-get-atxe2x80x9d locations, for example, such as in close proximity to the air valve stem of a tire on the wheel and in close proximity to one or more other spokes of the wheel.
In a very useful embodiment, the wrench or tool is configured so that additional leverage is available when the nipple is engaged to the additional slot relative to the leverage available when the nipple is engaged to the slot.
After the tool or wrench is placed around the nipple, the spoke can be tightened to the nipple by turning the tool in a wrenching motion. The nipple is turned or rotated until the desired degree of spoke tightness is achieved or until the tool or wrench comes in contact with another spoke or the air valve stem. The tool or wrench is then pulled off the nipple. If additional spoke tightening is desired, the tool is placed back on the nipple at the wrenching position and the above procedure is repeated until the desired spoke tightness is achieved. This repeated wrenching motion is the same as whenever a nut or bolt is tightened down in a close or confined area.
The base element preferably further includes a through hole spaced apart from the split or slot and the peripheral wall which extends through the first and second sides. This through hole may be used to attach the apparatus to a key chain or the like device so that the tool or wrench can be carried with the bicycle rider and used when necessary or desired.
The maximum transverse, i.e., straight line, dimension of the base element is preferably in the range of about 0.5 inches to about 2.5 inches, and more preferably about 1.5 inches.
A particularly useful configuration for the present tool or wrench is with the first and second sides and the peripheral wall defining four (4) substantially equally spaced apart lobes. In this xe2x80x9clobexe2x80x9d configuration, the enlarged portion of the slot is preferably substantially centrally located relative to the spaced apart lobes. The additional slot, if any, is preferably located in one of the spaced apart lobes. If the above-noted through hole is included, it is preferably located in another one of the spaced apart lobes.
Spoked wheels comprising a rim spaced apart from and surrounding a wheel hub, a plurality of spokes each of which is joined to the rim and a plurality of nipples, for example, as described herein, each of which is positioned to join one of the spokes to the rim are included within the scope of the present invention.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description and claims, particularly when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts bear like reference numerals.